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Whitehall...Taxis all the way to Trafalgar Square and beyond.
Yesterday saw the start of the forth week of protests over TFL's and the Mayor's agenda against the Taxi Trades access to certain Streets and  bus lanes, with Tottenham Court Road and being the thin end of the wedge. As the protests are gathering momentum, it may become necessary to split the venues so that all those who want to protests, can do so....rather than be tucked away round a side street. 

Yesterday also saw a scathing attack, not only on the protesters, but also on the Chairman of a Taxi Trade representative org who supports the protests....from the general secretary of the LTDA, Steve McNamara.  The email sent to most of the LTDA members has since found its way onto social media and has prompted this response from the Indeoendant Taxi Alliance (ITA) below.



STATEMENT FROM THE ITA IN REGARDS TO STEVE MCNAMA'S EMAIL TO MEMBERS.
The LTDA email to members. Where do I start?
Steve McNamara stated that working d…

Carlyle Group is eyeing the possible sale of Addison Lee Group in a deal that could value the London-based taxi company at around £390m, according to a reliable source.The buyout group has appointed bankers from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to handle the process, which is likely to start later in 2019 when there may be more clarity about the UK’s planned departure from the European Union, the people added.Founded in 1975 by entrepreneur John Griffin, Addison Lee has a fleet of roughly 5,000 Private Hire Vans and cars and serves more than 10 million customers a year in London alone.Since Carlyle bought the business in a £300m deal in 2013, Addison Lee has had to stave off competition from disruptive new entrants like Uber by investing heavily in new technology and planning an aggressive expansion.The minicab operator, which announced plans to take on Uber in New York in 2015, splashed out around £30m on a deal to buy chauffeur company Tristar Worldwide, which Addison Lee said created …

Armed police shoot man 'holding a firearm' in his twenties as officers arrest group 'holding woman captive' in south-east London.By Rod Ardehali For Mailonline and The Mail on Sunday Reporter 09:11 09 Feb 2019, updated 23:00 09 Feb 2019 • Man shot during arrest of six men for allegedly holding a woman captive • Armed police called to Blackheath Hill after 999 caller raised alarm before 4am • Forensic officers were at the scene carrying out investigations this morning An armed police officer ‘unintentionally’ shot a suspect while responding to a report that a woman was being held captive in a pub yesterday. A woman rang police at around 4am, saying another female was being held by armed men in The Anchor, in Lewisham, South-East London. Officers stopped a car near Blackheath that had driven from the pub.‘During the vehicle stop, a police firearm was unintentionally discharged,’ a Scotland Yard statement said.Armed police shot a man as they arrested a group of allegedly …

Uber's Dara put a big smile on Mike 'on side' Browns face, offering to help with TFL's billion pound buget deficit by getting his drivers to pay the congestion charge. Uber is to continue operating in Birmingham for at least another year after being granted a probationary renewal of its operator licence by the city council.A licensing sub committee held a meeting behind closed doors at the end of January and unanimously agreed for the firm to carry on until January 31, 2020 when it will be up for review again.The minicab app stated it had been 'humbled' by the reaction in Birmingham since launching in the city in 2015.A booklet, submitted as part of their application, provided a number of statistics about the operation revealing that more than 1,000 drivers licensed by Birmingham City Council are earning money through the app.There have been more than 15 million trips since 2015 with an average pick-up time of four minutes.Unfortunately Birmingham have not relea…

1pm Friday, thousands of militant Taxi drivers headed for Parliament Square. Police diverted all traffic from the area but allowed Taxis to enter the protest. The Squar soon filled and all approach roads were full of Taxis. Westminster Bridge, Millbank, Victoria Street, Birdcage Walk and Whitehall were stacked full with protesting taxis. 
Organisers worked along with the police, asking if emergency lanes could be left empty, as we did not want to be falsely accused of blocking access for ambulances of fire engines.
As traffic all other had been diverted, the police felt that the sides of the road leading away from the square (being empty) was sufficient for emergency vehicles to use. But the outside lane in the square itself, was kept empty for emergency use. 
Police worked with the protesters (unlike Wednesday when a couple of stroppy officers got aggressive) and the protests stayed put and ended peacefully at 4pm. 
The protests are gathering pace and growing in numbers every time.  The t…

These drivers are on the front line, fighting for the survival of our trade.  If you worked.... while your colleagues fought for your job.... For yours and your families livelihood... then shame on you.



from Taxi Leaks http://bit.ly/2TGSLO0
via IFTTT Editorial February 09, 2019 at 09:40AM These Three Drivers, On The Front Line, Fighting For The Survival Of Our Trade. http://bit.ly/UJT069 Call 01908 263263 for airport taxi service Milton Keynes Area

Thursday 7th Feb, both London Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL commissioner Mike Brown, face questions from the General London Assembly (GLA), over transport issues. 
The London Cab Drivers Club (LCDC) have submitted questions to assembly members to be asked on our behalf. Strangely quiet from Woodfield Road.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Mike Brown has avoided many meetings with the London Taxi Trade and has also stopped answering questions out to him in emails. 
One of the questions Mike Brown has repeatedly avoided answering is : Has TFL ever done a Health and Safety risk assessment on Uber’s mode of operations.... 
We have been reliably informed that drivers have asked this question many times by email, yet the commissioner has failed to answer or make a statement. 
One thing TfL did say was, if you don’t like what we are doing, then take us to court.... And that’s exactly what UTAG are going to do.  But to do this, they need your financial help. 
Please use the UTAG link in the right hand colum…

Tax lawyer takes on the ride-hailing giant over VAT charges The lawyer who spearheaded a landmark court case -- which ended with the European Union’s top court ruling that the U.K. can unilaterally reverse Brexit -- appeared in court Wednesday for a fresh battle, this time with Uber Technologies Inc.Jolyon Maugham, who runs a group that raises money for lawsuits that promote a progressive agenda, says Uber should pay Value Added Tax, a 20 percent U.K. sales tax on most goods and services. Uber says it doesn’t need to because it’s only acting as an intermediary between drivers and riders.Uber would owe 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) if Maugham won his case, once backdated payments are counted, Maugham said outside court, citing his own calculations.His lawyer Vikram Sachdeva said at the court hearing that the case could leave Uber liable for an estimated annual tax bill of 200 million pounds.The case centers on an Uber journey Maugham took in March 2017, which cost 6 pounds and 34 pe…

Just after 10pm last night (Tuesday Feb 5th), a man died after being hit by a bus on Camden Road. Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene close to Camden Town station, but the pedestrian, believed to be aged in his fifties, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dramatic images showed emergency services lining the street, which was sealed off by police. Traffic was diverted while the road remained closed, with bus routes 29, 253 and N29 all being rerouted.
Emergency services, including London Air Ambulance, were called to the scene following reports of a collision.
No arrests have been made at the scene and the driver of the bus involved was said to be assisting police. 
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "The pedestrian, a man believed to be aged in his fifties was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Police are in the process of informing his next of kin. "No arrests have been made as of yet. The driver of the Route 274 bus involved stopped at the scene and is assisting pol…

The decision to issue a summons was made at Wednesday morning's meeting of the London Assembly's GLA oversight committee.

The Assembly wants to see any notes, text messages and/or social media messages sent or received in the time period 1 March 2018 to 25 January 2019 between the Garden Bridge Trust and/or the trust's professional advisors and the following officers of Transport for London:

• TfL Commissioner, Mike Brown
• TfL Head of Corporate Affairs, Andy Brown
• TfL General Counsel, Howard Carter
• TfL solicitor, Charles Ritchie
• TfL Director of City Planning, Alex Williams

The committee has also requested the disclosure of two letters sent by Lord Davies, chair of the Garden Bridge Trust.

The documents and files are to be provided no later than two weeks from the date of the summons notice.

Tom Copley AM, chair of the Garden Bridge Working Group at City Hall, said: "It is jaw-dropping that TfL have not learnt that when it comes to this project, transparency is…

In the 45 years I've been licensed as a London Taxi driver, I have never before had a problem applying for a renewal. 
The easiest was Penton Street, just turn up, fill in the form, hand over two passport photos, pay your cash and that was it. Then when TfL took over licensing, I used the postal pack and the post office check and send. As I say, never had a problem. 
But it became apparent round about seven years ago that the system wasn't running as smooth as it could be plus the commissioner Sir Peter Hendy tried to stop the issue of temporary licenses for renews arriving late.
Taxi Leaks did our bit by pointing out to Sir Peter the transport Act sec 17 subsection 11 which says once the application has been submitted and the DBS received back, your old licence stays valid until you receive the renewal or your licence is revoked. 
But even so, many drivers seem to have lost work....some for weeks and in certain cases months waiting for renewals. 
The orgs who should have been up i…

Because of the carnage created in Midland Road by Camden Council, we believe it's time TfL and Eurostar stepped in and moved Euro Star ranking facilities round to Pancras Road.
Reports on social media over the weekend said it was taking over £11 on the clock (from picking up on St Pancras rank) to finally exiting onto Euston Road.....this is disgraceful. Videos were circulating of emergency vehicles stuck in the gridlock. We just hope that lives haven't been lost as yet.
How long before passengers stop using taxis from the St Pancras rank altogether?  Perhaps this was the plan all along...passengers forced onto the underground...Is Khan trying to fill the £1 billion deficit by taking passengers away from the Taxi trade and forcing them onto the Tube?
Immediate Action Needed : Where's The Joint Ranks Committee On This? We need TfL and Camden to move the rank at St Pancras to Pancras Road. As PH not being metered they can pick up and drop off in the carnage of Midland Road and it…

*The Truth*
Jas Sandhu of the Met Police, seconded to TfL as a replacement to Insp Neil Bellany (of the Uber email FOI's), contacted every Org and Union wanting to speak the ITA leaders.
Steve Garelick informed us via text, not giving Sandhu any of our personal information away, but giving me Sandhu's number.
Sean Paul Day and Jimmy Thomas are the spokesmen and media control of the ITA. We trust no one else.
We asked SPD to call Sandhu as ITA spokesman, and reporter for LTR.
The crux of the conversation, on loud speaker, with Danny and myself in silent witness, was TfL had been forced to contact the ITA by the Met.
Obviously TfL can see division in the trade as usual, with plenty of negativity and sniping from drivers who feel working and letting main roads being lost to Taxis is okay. So they were prepared to sit and wait until the militants who are prepared to fight for their rights shrivel into poverty and limp away in defeat.
TfL are worried.
They are dying to control us.
T…

It has always been well known TFL's dodgy taxi emission statistics were a product of fantasy reliant on a philosopy of technology running too slow for those who desire it most..... Them.

So making up disparaging and unsustainable accusations against an easy target namely taxis for polution or emission levels and ignoring the hundereds of thousands of other vehicles that use Londons roads daily is completely scandelous and proves how corrupt and low the highly paid officials of TFL will go to win a point of argument using us as an Iconic publisised vehicle whilst at the same time attempting to illiminate us from the road completely on economics and tecnology which are like siamese twins.

Politics within the TFL mass transportation system has been outed since Uber fell into favour with TFL and remembering TFl is not supposed to be apolitical as it is overall governed by the Mayor and the Greater London Authority, if the dodgy emission dossier statisctics were provided by senior offi…

At Mayor's Question time on the 17th of January, London Mayor Sadiq Khan told GLA Councillor David Kurten that  taxis produce 20% of NOx in Central London today and will produce 30% of NOx by 2020....When questioned about the validity of the statistics he said why should I ignore the science from my experts !!!
But in a written answer to Cllr Kurten, Mayor Khan has now admitted the statistics are no more than ESTIMATES - i.e. figures not based on any measurements, but plucked out of thin air.

But these guesstimated statistics are now flying around the media as pure facts and being used to damage the London Taxi trade. Taxi Leaks asks: Why have our largest org, the one who allegedly have secret meetings with the mayor and TfL commissioner Mike Brown not said anything about these lies ??? Why have none of our smaller orgs or three Unions said anything about these lies ???
Every Taxi follows TfL mandated guidelines over emissions, each vehicle having two MOTs and a TFL inspection every y…

At a Mayors Question time on the 17th of January, London Mayor Sadiq Khan told GLA Councillor David Kurten that  taxis produce 20% of NOx in Central London today and will produce 30% of NOx by 2020, when questioned about the validity of the statistic he said why should I ignore the science from my experts.....
But in a written answer to Cllr Kurten, Mayor Khan has now admitted the statistics are no more than ESTIMATES - i.e. figures not based on any measurements but plucked out of thin air.

But as these estimated statistics are now flying around the media as facts and being used to damage the London Taxi trade, why have our largest org, the ones who allegedly have secret meetings with the mayor and TfL commissioner Mike Brown not said anything about these lies ??? Why have none of our smaller orgs or three Unions said anything about these lies ???
Every Taxi follows TfL mandated guidelines over emissions, each vehicle having two MOTs and a TFL inspection every year. The Mayor is using zomb…

Aalia Chaudhary and Fizan Syed were both jailed for robbing taxi drivers at knifepoint. Credit: Thames Valley Police A man and woman who robbed taxi drivers at knifepoint have been jailed. Fizan Syed and Aalia Chaudhary targeted four taxi drivers in Slough over an 18 month period between November 2015 and May 2017
The pair would order a taxi to Langley and then hold a knife to the driver's neck before stealing cash and valuables. They were jailed at Reading Crown Court on Friday, January 25 after being convicted of four counts of robbery.
The court heard Syed would sit directly behind the drivers, while Chaudhary sat in the other rear passenger seat. Chaudhary would speak to the drivers during the trips, but when they arrived at their destination Syed would place his arm around the neck of the driver and hold a knife to their throat. Chaudhary would then search the taxi for money, wallets and other valuable items before they ran away.
Two of their victims sustained cuts to their faces dur…